Young Sheldon came to an end with its seventh and final season, wrapping up several story arcs of the Cooper family in small-town Texas.
The penultimate episode before Young Sheldon‘s two-part finale threw the Cooper family into a whirlwind of grief. George Cooper died from a heart attack just when he, Mary and Missy were planning to start a new life in Houston where he’d start his dream job of coaching college football. Going into the finale, there were a lot of questions about how Young Sheldon would deal with George’s passing, Sheldon’s move to California Institute of Technology (aka Caltech) and transitioning Georgie and Mandy into their new spinoff. It’s a lot of ground to cover in just under an hour, but somehow, Young Sheldon ticked every box off its checklist.
The highly-viewed two-part finale, simply titled “Funeral” and “Memoir,” follows the Coopers in a life without George. Family dynamics are all out of whack, and everyone is grieving in different ways. Knowing how these characters turn out in The Big Bang Theory, the Young Sheldon finale proves that George’s death molded each of the character’s distinct personalities in the future. The finale has its tear-jerking moments as it reflects on the life George and Sheldon left behind, but it didn’t give up the humor Young Sheldon is known for.
How the Cooper Family Says Goodbye to George
The finale doesn’t take place long after George’s death, but it’s not suddenly after either. It’s somewhat disappointing, as viewers aren’t able to see Georgie’s immediate reaction to his father’s passing. The family is tasked with arranging George’s funeral with the help of Pastor Jeff. As tradition in American society, neighbors and friends bring food and offer their condolences, featuring a Reba McEntire cameo as June. It quickly becomes clear in “Funeral” that George was the glue of this family. Without George, there’s no one to keep a level-head and find a compromise between family members that are fighting.
Everyone has their own way of grieving George’s death: Mary practices religion nearly every day, Missy attacks people and Georgie steps up in his father’s shoes. Sheldon explores possible alternate universes where he had a gratifying last moment with his father. It’s the only way he doesn’t consume himself with regret over that last moment. On the outside, he appears as callous and insensitive towards his father’s death, causing a rift between him and Missy. But Sheldon has always processed his emotions differently, which is why he couldn’t bring himself to give a eulogy at George’s funeral.
While Georgie takes care of both of his families, Mary allows grief to overcome her. She spends every waking moment praying or in a church, much to Connie and Georgie’s worry. Things get extremely heated when she forces Missy and Sheldon to get baptized to “save their soul.” Obviously, both of them are against the idea. Sheldon is unapologetically atheist and Missy doesn’t believe a baptism will reverse the damage George’s death caused. But Sheldon gets baptized to please his mother. It’s Sheldon’s way of repaying his mother for everything she sacrificed. In some ways, it’s also Sheldon’s way of thanking his father for his sacrifices as well.
Sheldon Cooper Moves to Caltech
In the two-part penultimate episode, Sheldon was preoccupied with freezing his life in Texas, even though he was moving to Caltech soon to start graduate school. George’s new job required moving to Houston, which he, Mary and Missy felt ready for. Sheldon was the only one against the idea, since he hates change and didn’t want the family dynamic to shift. But George’s death obviously put a wrench in that plan… or did it?
Sheldon’s plan to go to Caltech still moves forward, with no objections from other family plans. It was time for Sheldon to achieve bigger and better things, and this is what he’s been working toward his entire life. Ending Young Sheldon on this note was always the correct move, as it directly leads into his life on The Big Bang Theory, where he feels understood by his own group of friends. However, he doesn’t leave without acknowledging that the Texas house he grew up in shaped who he is today. Eventually, Mary sold the house and moved some place else with Missy, starting a new life.
Young Sheldon Is Revealed to Be Sheldon’s Memoir
Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik make frequent appearances in the finale as adult Sheldon Cooper and his wife Amy Farrah Fowler. The flash forwards to the future reveal that the entirety of Young Sheldon has actually been Sheldon writing his memoir, which explains why so much of the narration has been heavily unreliable. Aside from his falsely positive description of himself as an emotionally intelligent person, it’s nice to know that Sheldon looks back so fondly on his family and the effect they had on his career and life.
The scenes with Jim Parsons as Sheldon also serve a purpose far beyond memoir-writing. In every scene, Amy insists that Sheldon get ready for their son’s hockey game that Sheldon is opposed to attending. Sheldon has never been one to enjoy sports, but much of the resistance could be that it reminds him of his father. Toward the end of their flashbacks, Amy makes the connection that Sheldon needs to embrace some of Mary’s compromising nature. He needs to put aside his own opinions and desires to show support for his son, just like Mary did for Sheldon. The very last scene with Parsons is him walking around the Cooper house one last time, remembering the family that pushed him to be the theoretical physicist he is today.
How Young Sheldon Sets Up Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage
The spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage was announced before the Young Sheldon finale, leading many to wonder how the last episode would set up their series. Strangely, but also appropriately, Young Sheldon doesn’t make much effort to push Georgie and Mandy into their own spinoff. Mandy hardly has an important storyline in the last two episodes, and Georgie is more concerned with handling his father’s funeral. However, the role Georgie plays in the finale will reflect the person he becomes in his spinoff, set only a month after Young Sheldon, says executive producer Steve Holland.
Very quickly, Georgie had to become responsible for not only his own wife and daughter, but his mother and twin siblings. He stops an argument between Missy and Sheldon, bargains with a salesperson about a casket and raises apprehension about Mary’s state of mind to Connie. Considering how young he is, it’s pretty impressive that he stepped up without a selfish thought in his mind.
Since Mary and Missy apparently moved out of the house, there’s a small chance that they won’t be regulars on the spinoff. Connie and Dale have a bigger chance of being supporting characters, and their presence would make it all the better. Thankfully, the Young Sheldon finale leaves things pretty open-ended for every character except Sheldon, giving them room to reappear down the line with Georgie and Mandy.
All seven seasons of Young Sheldon are available to stream on Netflix, Max and Paramount+. A spinoff titled Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage will premiere in fall 2024 on CBS.
